NY YANKEES: HITTING: Despite his decline from mediocrity into downright counter-productivity, SS DEREK JETER gets to hit atop the best lineup in baseball. Off an MVP-caliber season, OF CURTIS GRANDERSON is a true star. His average is mediocre, but his power is elite and the Yankees are letting him run when on base. After two years with a sub-.260 average, 1B MARK TEIXEIRA's talent seems to be fading. He still puts up huge power numbers playing in a bandbox. Coming off knee and thumb injuries, 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ is a serious injury risk hitting in the middle of this lineup. 2B ROBINSON CANO will once again see as many RBI chances as anyone. He's been great in those situations the past two seasons. OFs NICK SWISHER and BRETT GARDNER offer power and SBs, respectively, though the Yankees may look to upgrade if they continue to post lackluster numbers. C RUSSELL MARTIN will get plenty of playing time now that Jesus Montero is in Seattle. Veteran slugger RAUL IBANEZ is the new DH in town, and will love hitting towards the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium. STARTING PITCHING: CC SABATHIA struggled late last year and has logged a ridiculous number of innings over the past five years. He's a top-10 starter in the majors, but is starting to pass his prime. Newcomers HIROKI KURODA and MICHAEL PINEDA will both stabilize what was a shaky rotation last year. Kuroda, 37, posted a 3.07 ERA with the Dodgers and the 23-year-old Pineda has unlimited upside, fanning 173 batters in 171 innings with Seattle last season. IVAN NOVA benefitted from nearly nine runs of support per game. He keeps the ball down often enough to thrive in the Bronx, just without many strikeouts. PHIL HUGHES' stuff has regressed greatly since his days as a top prospect. He's trying to overcome conditioning problems this offseason. MANNY BANUELOS and DELLIN BETANCES are great prospects who may get a chance to start MLB games later this season. RELIEF PITCHING: Trust MARIANO RIVERA to stay dominant until proven wrong. He was better in 2011 than he was in 2010 despite some velocity slippage. DAVID ROBERTSON has a firm hold on eighth-inning duties after an All-Star season. He's second in line for saves. RAFAEL SORIANO wasn't a total bust, as he did just fine after a rough April. He's settled into the seventh-inning role since Robertson is more trusted that he is. After Tommy John surgery, JOBA CHAMBERLAIN is aiming to be back this June. Middle reliever CORY WADE was reliable last year, and has a chance to rack up some vulture wins if he keeps going strong.

HOUSTON: HITTING: This season will mark Houston's final year in the National League. Look away, children, as the Astros launch into what is sure to be the crappiest victory lap in baseball history. Tiny 2B JOSE ALTUVE's jump from High-A to MLB starter says more about Houston's pitiful state than anything. He belongs in Triple-A. CHRIS JOHNSON won the starting 3B job as JIMMY PAREDES was optioned to Triple-A. Johnson was thought to have 25-homer power, but last year he slugged just .378. 1B CARLOS LEE is in the twilight of a very productive career. Backup 1B BRETT WALLACE seems to be in the twilight of an unproductive one. OF BRIAN BOGUSEVIC has a low ceiling. But he's one of only a few recent draft picks who will even contribute. OF J.D. MARTINEZ doesn't blame you if you haven't heard of him, but he's the team's best player who hits third in the lineup. SS JED LOWRIE was a nice little pickup for a mid-tier closer. But his platoon split is intense. C JASON CASTRO will probably play ahead of CHRIS SNYDER. OF JORDAN SCHAFER has yet to put things together; but he'll be starting in center on Opening Day. Fourth OF J.B. SHUCK is only 24, but doesn't have a whole lot of upside. STARTING PITCHING: WANDY RODRIGUEZ has been a durable, above-average starter for five years, yet every season his real-world team limits his wins. He'll be traded at some point this year. Don't shortchange BUD NORRIS. He's an underrated source of strikeouts, and has improved his command. J.A. HAPP really needs to cut down on his walk total. JORDAN LYLES couldn't legally drink until the second-to-last week of the season. He's in the big leagues way too soon. He's yet another young Astro who isn't terrible, but won't ever set the world on fire. KYLE WEILAND came from Boston with Jed Lowrie and should earn the final spot in the rotation. Texas-bred fireballer JARRED COSART, 21, is a legitimately exciting (but risky) prospect who Houston will probably rush up to the majors at some point this year. RELIEF PITCHING: BRETT MYERS flummoxed the Astros' front office with a stinker of a season. He's probably closer to that pitcher than to the one who posted a career-best 3.14 ERA in 2010 at age 29, but he'll move the bullpen this year to get the rare opportunities to close out a game when this awful team is actually leading. WILTON LOPEZ was good in 2011, but was much better the previous season, when he may have been the most underrated reliever in the National League. Houston will go with him in the ninth if they want Myers to return to the rotation. BRANDON LYON has seen better days. He bombed early, then was shut down for good with a bicep injury. He intimidates nobody now.

Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte will wear a major league uniform for a final time Sunday, at least as players. It's unknown if Alex Rodriguez will be doing the same.

Before heading into an uncertain offseason, the New York Yankees will try to complete a three-game sweep over the Houston Astros.

Rivera has decided not to pitch in this series, leaving his iconic farewell at Yankee Stadium on Thursday as his final game.

"I think I squeezed every ounce of fuel that I had in my tank, and it's empty," said Rivera, who exits with a major league-record 652 saves. "I have nothing left. I gave everything that I had."

Pettitte had his own storybook ending Saturday in Houston, the only other place he pitched in his 18-season career. The left-hander tossed a five-hitter in a 2-1 victory, the 256th of his career and his first complete game since 2006.

"It couldn't end any better," Pettitte said. "It's been terrible because I know it's over. It's a shame you get old."

While the two longtime Yankees will retire, it's unknown if the 38-year-old Rodriguez will get to go out on his own terms. The fifth-leading home run hitter in MLB history (654) is set to focus on his appeal of a 211-game drug suspension.

"This has been a burden, a big burden. Let's get it on," Rodriguez told the team's website. "It starts on Monday. Better to face it head on."

With no playoff appearance this year, New York (84-77) will have an extended offseason for the first time since 2008, and only the second time since 1994. David Huff (3-1, 6.06 ERA) will try to take them into the long winter with a victory in his first matchup against Houston (51-110).

The left-hander, who has made 12 relief appearances this season, was tagged for a career high-tying nine runs over 3 1-3 innings in his only 2013 start, a 13-9 loss to Boston on Sept. 7.

He'll face a team that's the first in the majors to lose 110 or more games since Arizona went 51-111 in 2004. Detroit was the last AL team to do so, going 43-119 in 2003.

The Astros, losers in a franchise-record 14 straight, will send out Erik Bedard (4-12, 4.81) for the finale of another miserable season. The left-hander is 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA since rejoining the rotation Sept. 16, and was charged with six runs over five innings in a 9-2 loss in Cleveland last Sunday.

Bedard is 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in his last three starts against the Yankees and did not get a decision in his only matchup this season. He allowed four runs over four innings in a 5-4 defeat May 1.

New York will seek to improve to 6-0 all-time in Houston and 13-2 in the overall series. The Astros will try to avoid matching the third-most losses in a three-year stretch in major league history.

The Philadelphia Athletics dropped 324 from 1915-17, while the New York Mets lost 340 from 1962-64, and 332 from 1963-65.